Please, Don't
by AuthorSarahC
Summary: A little one shot. What if Charles and Pauline had tried to work things out? What if Jay and Liza had formed a deeper connection then in the show? When things get more serious between Liza and Jay, will Charles intervene or will he have to live with the choices he's made? CHARLIZA. Total team Charles. !


**What Now?**

By: Sarah Carey

 **Summary:** A short story about Liza Miller, and Charles Brooks. What would have happened if Charles and Pauline worked things out? As Liza tries her best to move on, she finds that something, or rather someone, keeps holding her back. Will her heart prevent her from doing the right thing? Or will Charles have to live with the mistakes that he's made. This is just a little detour while I've taken a break from my other fanfic, "As if We Had a Choice." #Teamcharles #Charliza

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Younger, or any of the characters. The story arch is my own. Reviews are appreciated.

 **Chapter One:** **PLEASE DON'T**

There was nothing he could think of to say now: not a word, a literary quote, or a famous passage he could site, to mask the omission which had just escaped his lips. It came out so blubbering and unsure he wasn't sure anyone had understood him. None of this was how he had imagined it happening. He had tried his best to prevent this from occurring, for months, but it was too late now.

The heart wants what it wants, even at the sake of losing it all. He had made so many mistakes over the past year; in his life, and work. Pushing away who he loved most for the sake of an old love, lost long ago was a mistake. But this wasn't a mistake, was it? How could Charles just sit idly by and watch Liza make the biggest mistake of her life?

The deep grey suit hugged his body like a glove. While it normally instilled a confidence in him, it currently provided little protection against his own embarrassment. He knew Pauline was somewhere close, he could smell the scent of her peach perfume not far off. Jay looked from Charles to Liza, and back again trying to make some sense of the scene his friend had just caused.

The silence rebounding off the previously noise tinged walls inside the restaurant, rang louder than the any noise could have. A few utensils scrapped and poked across the ceramic plates, crackling across stale air. Jay's face scrunched, his eyebrows dancing straight towards his receding hairline in a blatant display of worry. There was something more going on here than he realized, and now no one was sure what the next move was.

Pauline's hands covered her mouth as she stood like a statue, erect and frozen behind her husband. As the final declaration left his mouth, she closed her eyes realizing that this was it, the moment she finally realized their marriage was truly over. They had tried for months, whole heartedly to repair the broken shambles of who they used to be. But no matter how much he tried, he couldn't will his heart to open back up for her.

Charles, towering over Liza and Jay's table, gripped it for support, fingers inches away from the black velvet box out on display. His shoulders were heaving while Liza, still across from Jay, sat there, as the tears streamed down her face.

She looked up, feeling guilty for somehow being the cause of this scene. The look Pauline gave her, the all-knowing look, made her feel like she was somehow the other woman, when she hadn't done a thing wrong. How dare Charles! It seemed like every time she would start to move on, there he was again, lurking in the shadows. He had made his choice to stay with Pauline and after months of trying to pick up the pieces, Liza was finally happy again. Or at least, as happy as she thought she was capable of being.

"Liza," Charles whispered, unsure how to take back his admission, but wanting desperately for her to say something. He wanted to apologize to her, for potentially just ruining the happiest moment of her life. What was he thinking? The words had come rushing out faster than he could imagine, almost as fast as saying those words, had just unraveled his entire life.

His heart was pounding in his chest. The moment no one talks about is what happens _after_ you make the gesture. You always assume that things are going to work out for the best, but sometimes they don't. Sometimes, you don't get your happily ever after. Sometimes, you just get everyone hurt in the process of you trying not to hurt yourself. Ten minutes ago, his entire life made sense, and now, well, nothing did.

One minute he had his hand on the small of Pauline's back, half listening to her day, and ushering her into the restaurant for dinner. The next thing he knew, his eyes caught Liza's form and when he followed her eyeline to Jay he saw the black box positioned in Jay's hand. Before his best friend of twenty years could finish placing said box down on the table, he reacted. Charles's hand had left Pauline's back as he charged their table, blurting the line still lingering in the air above him, and interrupting a most private moment.

Jay and Liza, he had introduced them at a work event a year ago. It was clear from the rumors around the office that the two of them had begun dating. But it was something Charles tried not to think about. It was always so painful seeing them together at work events, but he thought he was getting used to it. After all, it was his decision to mend his marriage, it was his choice to tell Liza he couldn't continue things anymore.

"I can't!" Liza remarked looking at Jay apologetically before pushing her chair back harshly as she stood. But when it was Charles that reached out to stop her, she screamed, "Don't touch me," leaving her coat behind as she took off out of the restaurant. Charles didn't hesitate and took off after her, leaving Pauline and Jay behind.

"Did you know?" Pauline asked softly, sitting down to take Liza's seat.

"I suspected in the beginning, but I thought she had moved on," he said motioning down to the engagement ring on the table, "Obviously."

Pauline had known that their marriage was over, but she had no idea that Liza was the reason he wasn't letting her back in. Especially, because she was someone who she considered her friend.

"What now?" Pauline asked, as Jay grabbed the box and placed it back inside of his pocket.

"Now, we drink," he chuckled morbidly pouring her a glass of wine.

When Liza made it outside into the dark night she leaned against the building, feeling her chest pound up and down, almost hyperventilating. One minute she was sitting across from Jay, her heart pounding at the sight of the box, and the next, Charles was there, saying the words she once, longed to hear. But he was saying them at the wrong place, and the wrong time.

" _Please, don't!" Charles called as he approached the table, before Jay was able to let the rehearsed proposal drop from his lips. "Don't marry him!" he added in a rush, subsequently silencing not only Jay, but the entire restaurant. The words came out louder than intended, but the rest of the world fell away, as he gazed into Liza's fear stricken, brown eyes._

" _He's great, and he will care for you, I don't doubt he would," Charles began waving his hand towards Jay's figure frantically, but never breaking eye contact, "but he could never love you like I do Liza, because you, were made, for me. We," he clarified, feeling his voice begin to shake, "were made for each other."_

" _Wh-" Liza began, breaking eye contact with Charles just in time to see the sorrow cross Jays' features. He knew, she realized, and there wasn't any way she could deny it now._

" _Liza", Charles yelled, trying to regain her eyes. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, but he was petrified if she looked back at Jay, she'd realized he was the better choice. "I'm in love with you Eliza, it's always been you, so please. For the love of God, please, don't marry him." He pleaded, oblivious to Pauline's shocked expression behind him. But she said nothing, and he realized he may have just wrecked more than one relationship in his life. Unable to bring himself to look at Jay or Pauline, he looked to her, pleadingly,_

" _Liza," he breathed, but before he could stop her, she was gone._

How could he do that to her? Thinking no one had followed her, she had stopped outside the restaurant. Looking up, she saw him, and unable to stop herself she ran into his arms, kissing him passionately. The hot tears were streaming down her face, when she felt his arms lock around her body, and she threw herself against him, hoping to shield herself from the world. All she wanted to do, was stop thinking for a moment about Jay, or Pauline, or the rest of the world. All she wanted, was him.

"How could you do that to me!" she accused, throwing her fists against his chest as she pulled back from his kiss. But before he could respond, she started kissing him again, letting her tears fall.

"I was finally, happy," she pleaded pulling away again, "And to Jay, and Pauline, and," she slumped against his chest, as he pulled her to him, soothing her while she cried.

"I couldn't let you marry him, I couldn't let another man make you his wife," he explained, unsure of how to even justify his actions to himself. "I know, my timing is-"

"Atrocious," she agreed, gripping the sides of his suit in her fists.

"But I am in love with you Liza," he added, tracing the wet hair from her tears, out of her eyes, as she turned up to look at him. "I love you, and only you" he continued feeling his tight chest loosen at the revelation, at the chance to admit it aloud. "Everything else we'll figure out, but as long as you love me too, I know we can make it through anything together" he promised, knowing they would have one heck of a mess to clean up.

He was still waiting for her to admit it, he needed to hear the words.

"Charles Brooks," she offered, smirking at him, "I love you too," she confessed stroking her hand across his stubble cheeks and shaking her head as if it wasn't already obvious, "of course I-" though before she could finish, he had pulled her back into an embrace, and kissed her once more.


End file.
